Fall Anime Season 2011

UN-GO started off with a case so unimpressive that it turned away most viewers seeking for a season filled with mystery case files. As we all know it, first impression is important in helping anime fans to make their choices in a season full of exciting titles. Sadly, UN-GO didn’t quite make the cut for a lot of people. However, for those who chose to stick around a while longer were rewarded with something much more exciting than the first case.

Following the invitation card Shinjurou received supposedly from Kaishou Rinroku, he attended the party along with other invited guests. Some of the suspects were also present. So this is it, the final showdown. Once again, the case is not in any way challenging and the direction the mystery was taking was quite obvious from the beginning. Just as long you keep in mind Bettenou’s power is at play, it’s really easy to figure out who’s the actual culprit.

There’s no doubt Tamayura Hitotose is one of the good series in my book. There’s this mellow OP song that I fell in love with the first time l heard it. Not to mention whole soundtrack were soothing as well. The gorgeous artwork is something that I feast my eyes on Tuesday’s or Wednesday’s night for the last twelve weeks. One cannot argue the scenic town of Takehara in Tamayura Hitotose is something to gush about. Sure, the pacing was a bit too slow but I had fun nonetheless. Let’s just say the anime came at the right time. It was something I look forward to after hard day at work trying to meet year end deadlines (yes, my work has been rather stressful lately).

As the episode’s title had it, Kaishou Rinroku died. They said it’s a suicide as his involvement in illegal software usage was exposed during an investigation on the explosion last week. But I think most of us (Shinjurou included), if not all, believe that he is still very much alive. It’s simply too easy for Rinroku to go like that. Too easy…

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai started with Yozora and Kodaka forming a club called The Neighbor’s Club with the intention of learning how to make friends. I think that was the reason although there were several times I thought I read Yozora said “to be popular”. I don’t know about you, but trying to make new friends and trying to be popular are two entirely different things.

Now, there were a lot of times Yozora mentioned that they’re not making any progress in their social lives, and kept emphasizing they haven’t make any friends. Really?!

I was half expecting an episode with Shinjurou still within the four walls of prison, but in fact he was out and about tracking down the whereabouts of Bettenou. The novelist is history, or so it appears to be. While Shinjurou was occupied with the hunt, an explosion at a TV station has left an injured Kaishou Rinroku unable to defend himself as he was accused of being the mastermind behind the said explosion. Rie, Rinroku’s daughter, enlisted the help of Shinjurou to prove his innocence.

Kazamori to the rescue! Okay, maybe she didn’t exactly solve the case or anything but she’s been a huge help in bringing Shinjurou back to reality. Now that he’s back to his senses, it’s show time baby. It turns out there is a real murder to solve. It wasn’t some kind of fantasy I thought it was. The victim was the same person, except that he is not a movie director but a prison guard.